


Just A Game

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Quidditch, The start of something, mention of Harry/Ginny - Freeform, rekindling old attractions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-29
Updated: 2009-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-26 21:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6256795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Oliver have more in common than Quidditch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A Game

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the lovely lore who gave the prompt “yes, daddy!” Set during and after the series. Originally posted to Livejournal in 2009.

**Then**

Harry frowned at the pile of books that Oliver Wood was pouring out of a seemingly bottomless bag onto his bed. It was early on Sunday morning, too early to think, never mind deal with Wood. But he’d been insistent, and more to the point, he’d been loud, and Harry’s friends had quickly dispersed for the common room, their duvets wrapped around them, declaring in falsetto voices that they’d sleep in there if they had to. Wood hadn’t noticed.

“What _is_ all this stuff?” Harry asked in between yawns.

“You want to be the greatest Quidditch player that ever lived?” Wood asked, not giving a startled Harry chance to answer. “Then this will help. _Rules and Regulations_ , a must have. Read that one first. _Greatest Quidditch Players of the 19th and 20th Centuries_ , _Quidditch for Dummies_ , _Know thy Enemy_ , _How to Beat the Beaters_ , _Golden Snitches of the Ages_ , _Broomsticks and Seekers: How to Keep Them in Good Condition_ , _What’s Next?: How to Keep That Winning Streak_ , _Never Give Up, Never Surrender: How To Turn Your Quidditch Team Around_. They are all excellent. I’ll bring around the rest later.”

“The rest?” Harry asked incredulously. His bed already looked like a library.

“Do you want to learn, or not?” Wood asked. He was getting very red in the face as he tried to keep the books from falling off the bed and onto to the floor.

Harry yawned. He was getting used to Wood’s manic approach to Quidditch, but it was still slightly alarming.

“Why don’t we put them on the floor?” Harry suggested, moving forward to do just that.

“Yeah, okay,” Wood said, allowing a couple of them to slide on to the floor. “Okay.”

Harry paused with a handful of books held tightly to his chest. “Are you okay?”

“We can do this can’t we Harry?” He looked Harry in the eyes and Harry tried to find something to say in the face of such honesty, and undoubtedly barmy, despair.

“Sure.” He wasn’t exactly sure what “this” was, but as long as Wood was happy, he was happy.

“So we should get some practice in, first thing.”

“It is first thing,” Harry pointed out, dropping his books to the floor. “And I’m tired.” He yawned again. “I won’t be able to concentrate without a decent night’s sleep,” he pointed out, quite reasonably as he thought, though Wood looked like Harry had just told him he wanted to join Slytherin.

“You need to practice Harry. This isn’t a game.”

Harry swallowed the urge to point out that that was exactly what Quidditch was. Instead he sighed and sat down on the bed, knocking a few more books on to the floor; if he didn’t know better he’d swear they were breeding.

“I will, Oliver. Later.”

He sank back on top of the bed and closed his eyes. He counted to ten and, when he still didn’t hear Wood leave, he opened his eyes. Wood was staring down at him and Harry wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Anything wrong?” he asked, feeling the first stirrings of _something_ in his belly.

“No,” Oliver said. “I’ll see you later.”

They never talked about it.

**Now**

Harry quickly found his seat and looked out at the Quidditch game already in progress. He’d have been there on time if he hadn’t gone to visit Ron in the hospital. Applying the accelerator when he meant to brake wasn’t the smartest thing Ron had ever done, but after checking his best friend was in one piece, he’d hurried off, before Hermione vented her anger at him too. He didn’t envy those two sometimes, but then the make-up sex was probably spectacular.

He shuddered. Thinking about Hermione, or Ron for that matter, and sex, was just plain weird.

“Harry? Harry Potter is that you?”

Harry frowned. He’d slowly got used to the attention over the years, but he still harboured after that illusive anonymity.

He looked finally, when it became clear that the man was coming closer to him.

“Oliver? Is that you?”

“Hey Harry. Good to see you.” He smiled pleasantly at the witch seated next to Harry and managed to squeeze in between them. “So, how are you?”

Harry smiled. “Good, thanks. And you…”

“Oh, come on!” Oliver yelled at the game in progress, startling Harry in to silence. The game was in full swing but Harry found he didn’t really care what was happening. It just felt nice to be sitting so close to someone who didn’t care about personal space, and who was so clearly passionate about something. “What are you _doing?”_ he screamed.

“Not going well?” Harry ventured.

“No, bloody idiots. No idea.” He shook his head. “Not like in our day, eh, Harry? _Those_ were some matches.”

“Yeah,” Harry replied. He thought back wistfully to a time when Quidditch was the only thing on his mind. How time flies.

“Ginny and the kids not with you?” Oliver asked, lightly. He kept his eyes fixed on the Quidditch match, but Harry couldn’t help but feel there was an edge to his words.

“No. They’re um…they’ve gone to stay with Molly Weasley for a bit.” It wasn’t a lie exactly, more a half-truth, he told himself.

“I see.”

Harry looked at him sharply. Maybe he did see. But he didn’t say anything else so Harry relaxed a little. He hadn’t even told Ron and Hermione yet.

“Yes, daddy, that’s the way to do it!” Oliver shouted, pumping his fists. Several wizards and witches sitting around them turned to glare. But Oliver was clearly oblivious. “Their Seeker got the Snitch! Did you see her, Harry?” He turned to Harry with a beaming smile on his face.

“No, I wasn’t…no.” Harry whispered. Oliver kept on staring at him and he swallowed hard, his throat suddenly feeling constricted.

“How about we go get something to eat. A bit of a celebration?” Oliver asked. He reached forward and placed a firm hand on Harry’s trembling leg.

“Okay,” Harry said. “A celebration.”

Oliver squeezed Harry’s leg and got up. “Come on, then. I know just the place.”

Harry got up and followed. Maybe a new start was what he needed. Or maybe he just needed some time out to re-evaluate what he was doing with his life. Either way, the uncertainty was more invigorating than he’d felt in years. And he didn’t ever want to lose that feeling again.


End file.
